An unexpected 'public' holiday... We made the most of it!

Howard writes...

With the arrival of rain last night, Imi and I discussed what 'our policy' for packing up tent and paddling in the rain should be? We both concluded that if on waking it was pouring with rain, we would declare the day a 'public' holiday... No work! I like to have thought through the 'policy' before it happens, linking it to the adventure goal, and it frees one up from the emotions involved when one is in the  reality of thinking of the cold and wet outside! In this case it even enabled me to enjoy the sound of the rain pelting down on my tent, while I was snug in my sleeping bag, well past waking time... It was 7h30 and policy said "Enjoy, it's just been declared a 'public' holiday today!"

Overnight a deep cold front moved in, bringing heavy rain, and a bitterly cold wind. The outside temperature was surprisingly cold, and uninviting! I knew Imi, in his tent 100 metres away (we like our camping solitude!) had also declared it an 'obvious' public holiday! That was freedom too.... No debates, discussion, yet consensus!

But, now for the realities: what would I do all day, in a 2m X 0.75m tent? Oops, was this the  next level of more extreme solitary confinement from my days in my much bigger tent in Antarctica? (This tent I have here is my new ultralight, single-pole, wind-beater, Siberia cycling tent, but it's VERY  small!) I had visions of starting this blog saying I had serious backache, knowing you'd think it was from a tough portage day, whereas it would have been from a tough, physically constrained, bed-ridden day!

Oh well, the rain stopped around 8h30, we had breakfast next to the lake's crashing waves, with every bit of clothing we had – Imi complete with gloves and balaclava – with our backs to the seriously chilling wind. Now was this FUN? Hmmm, yes, but only because it was a public holiday!

Life is always full of surprises. We both said afterwards that we were a little daunted by the hollow prospect of having a no-objective, stay-at-home public holiday, but what a day it turned out to be... I guess the rain mostly held off, enabling Imi and I to sit on a piece of rock that was now and again bathed in sun, discussing a variety of fascinating 'heavy' subjects. I gave him a hard time about the practicality of his Rewilding Amendment, to which he had surprisingly-well-developed, yet obviously radical, solutions. He challenged me on my seemingly confused stance on capitalism, and so the day went on....

What a friend. In many a heated discussion or debate, I always felt his care, respect and integrity. I have been struggling with the messages in my uncompleted book, and today through his help and extreme challenge on my philosophy and beliefs, it all came clear... Hmmm, were we working on a public holiday? We agreed few get the time, the environment, and the true, caring friendship to explore the, sometimes very personal stuff we did today. At one point it just came out, and Imi said: "Luck let me find you," and I said "Luck found me you too." Now, don't worry, we aren't getting married; it's just nice being able to share in Quetico like this. The strong presence of Wilderness Nature, has a lot to do with it...

See Imi's blog post from the previous day. 
See Howard's blog post from the previous day.